18. Everly
18
Everly
Nikki and I made it into the cabin just after eight o’clock, and five others trickled in over the next half-hour.
First was Cheryl, who I was glad to see unscathed.
The second to arrive was a petite, porcelain-skinned girl I recognized from the beach. Her name was Kanako, and she’d sustained an injury after running into a hunter in a small clearing. He’d thrown a knife at her, lodging it in her upper arm, and she’d simply turned and fled, not even bothering to pull the knife out.
The hunter hadn’t managed to catch up with her after missing the shot—presumably, he was aiming for her heart—and I could only assume it was because he was inexperienced in this fucked-up game. Unlucky for him, but very lucky for Kanako. If she’d gone up against an experienced hunter… God, the thought made me shudder.
Nikki told her that she’d done the right thing in leaving the knife lodged in her arm as we helped her treat the injury with one of our first aid kits. Apparently, removing it could have caused even more bleeding, especially if it had nicked a major blood vessel. By keeping it in place, she’d minimized the damage until we could properly dress the wound. As long as she kept the area as clean as possible, she was going to be fine.
For now, anyway. None of us had any idea what the future held.
The other three arrived together, having teamed up after leaving the beach earlier. One was Chris, who I already vaguely knew, and another was the tall blonde woman who’d stood up for him when Nathan was being rude about his criminal history. Her name was Ava. The final one was another guy I recognized but hadn’t been properly acquainted with until now—the guy from the yacht party who’d brought up the NDA with me. His name was Jade.
While we munched on the extra rations from the cabin cache, Nikki announced that she needed to use the bathroom. As she spoke, she shot me a pointed glance—her eyes wide and insistent, with a subtle tilt of her head—that made it clear she wanted me to go with her.
I followed her down the narrow hall and stepped into the cramped bathroom. Calling it a bathroom was generous, really. It was little more than a low, lidless toilet and a tiny, rust-stained sink. Still, it was nice to have access to such small luxuries when I knew most of this game would be spent out in the wild.
“What’s up?” I asked in a hushed voice.
“I was wondering—do you think we should tell the others our plan to find the tunnels?” she whispered back.
“I was actually wondering the same thing,” I said. I paused for a second, lips twisting in contemplation. “It would be good if we could rescue as many people as possible. But on the other hand… a big group of people might attract too much attention. It would be much louder than just the two of us.”
“I thought about that. But sometimes there’s safety in numbers, as long as everyone can agree on a set of rules.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said. “Also, if we don’t tell them… I don’t know if I can live with it on my conscience. Knowing I could’ve helped people and chose not to.”
“Exactly,” she replied, nodding fervently. “So… you think we should tell them?”
“Yes.”
We headed back to the main room of the cabin and pointedly cleared our throats. The others turned their heads to look up at us, eyes wide. “What’s up?” Chris asked.
“We have something to tell you, and we also have a plan that might get us out of here,” Nikki said. She looked over at me. “Ev, do you want to tell them the first part?”
“Sure.” I cleared my throat again. “So, earlier today, I realized I’ve actually been here before. This island is named Wildercliff Island, and it’s—”
“I knew it!” Jade cut in, jumping to his feet. “I knew you were a mole! How the fuck can you—”
“Shut up, asshole!” Nikki snapped. “She’s not a mole. Let her finish!”
Jade sat back down, eyeing me warily, but he let me speak without interruption. I told the others the meat of the story—how my ex-boyfriend’s family owned an island, were likely involved with The Wild Hunt, and how I’d been inside the tunnels before, albeit a very long time ago.
“If we can make it up to the manor undetected, we can try to steal a satellite phone or radio to call for help. Also, there’s a helipad and a boat landing on the estate. And seeing as there are so many hunters here, there’s bound to be several boats too,” I said. “I doubt anyone here can fly a helicopter, but I’m sure we can figure out how to drive a boat, right?”
Chris raised his hand. “I know how to do it. We just need the keys.”
“We’ll figure that out when we get there. If we get there,” Nikki said. “This is all very risky. You understand that, right? These nutjobs will kill us if they see us trying to escape.”
“They’ll kill us either way,” Kanako said, looking pointedly at her injured arm.
Nikki winced. “I know. I just meant—”
“It’s okay. We all know what you meant—that we have to be very, very careful,” Ava said. She turned her gaze to me. “How sure are you that we can find this tunnel you mentioned?”
“Honestly? I’m not sure at all,” I replied. “But it’s the only hope we have.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Chris muttered.
Kanako sighed. “Me too.”
I looked at the remaining three in turn. “What about you?”
“I guess you’re right. It’s the only hope we have,” Ava said, shrugging. “If we stay on the island, we die.”
Wariness was still flickering in Jade’s eyes. “I don’t know,” he said in a low voice. “It almost sounds too good to be true. How do we know this isn’t some sort of trap?”
“It’s not,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I’m trying to help you.”
“But how can we know that for sure?” he asked, forehead creasing. “For all we know, you could be a plant put here by the organizers to shake things up.”
“Look, Jade, I’ve been shot at twice today. Once with a gun and once with an arrow,” I snapped. “Just ask Nikki—they barely missed either one of us. If I was a mole, do you really think I’d risk my life like that?”
Nikki nodded. “She’s telling the truth. She’s not a mole. I’m literally staking my life on it,” she said. “But if you don’t want to risk it, I understand. We’ll go without you, and you can do your own thing. Hell, you can even look for one of the tunnels alone, if you want.”
Jade looked down at the dusty cabin floor, rubbing his jaw. Then he let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll come with you guys.”
“Good.” I looked over at Cheryl again. “I know you want to do the whole lone wolf thing, but this isn’t about surviving the game. This is about getting away from the game entirely. So do you want to join us?”
Her brows dipped in a contemplative frown. Then she nodded curtly. “I’m in.”
“Great,” Nikki said. She clapped her hands together. “Okay, my turn. I have some rules.”
“Rules?” Jade said scornfully.
“Yes, Jade. Rules .” She shot him a warning look and went on. “I used to hunt with my dad when I was a kid, so I know their tactics, and I know how to survive shit like this. But you have to follow the rules I lay out here, or else you’ll be risking all of our lives, because traveling in a big group comes with a whole host of risks. Understood?”
“Yes,” the others said in unison, including Jade, who looked slightly embarrassed now.
“Firstly, and this one’s pretty obvious—stay quiet. No screaming, crying, or even talking unless it’s absolutely necessary. I’ll teach you all some basic communication signs we can use instead of words. Also, to add to the no noise thing… no running unless necessary. It’s too loud.”
“Got it,” Ava said, nodding.
“Another obvious one. Listen to me . I know what I’m talking about. So if I say we go north, we go north. I don’t want to hear arguments,” Nikki went on. “Thirdly, if someone can’t keep up or pulls us down, we leave them behind. No exceptions.”
“What?” Kanako said, eyes widening.
Nikki raised a palm. “I know it sounds horrible, but it’s pragmatic. Think about it. If one of us gets stuck in a snare, and the rest of us spend half an hour trying to figure out how to get it down, a hunter could show up and kill every single one of us in that time. Or if one of us gets shot in the leg and can’t walk anymore…well, they’ll just slow us down if we try to carry them,” she said. “I understand how heartless it sounds, but we have to think about the greater good of the group.”
“She’s right,” Cheryl said. “It’s harsh but true.”
The others grudgingly nodded.
“Also,” Nikki continued. “Make sure you’re always aware of your surroundings. Keep an eye on the tree line and the ground around you. There could be anything waiting to jump out at us, whether it’s a hunter or a trap. Oh, and to add to that, for the love of God, always watch out for tripwires. Never take a single step for granted.”
“Right,” Ava murmured.
“Next, don’t trust anyone completely,” Nikki added. “Not even me. If someone starts acting weird, or you feel like they’re hiding something, don’t ignore it. Trust your instincts. If something feels off, it probably is.”
Jade raised his brows and glanced at me, but he didn’t speak. Clearly, he still didn’t fully trust me, given my earlier story, but he at least trusted me enough to stop saying snarky things.
“We can’t stop moving for too long, unless we’re hidden and have checked our surroundings thoroughly. If we stop, we risk being spotted. It’s like painting a target on our backs,” Nikki said. She glanced around, making sure everyone was absorbing what she was saying. “Lastly, if you’re caught in a trap or pinned down by gunfire, don’t try to fight back like a hero. Unless you’ve got an actual shot at escape, stay low and quiet. And if you’re ever separated from the group and you can’t find us… well, that brings us back to rule three. We won’t look for you, as harsh as that sounds.”
Everyone was silent for a moment. Then the group murmured their acknowledgement in unison.
“Okay, now I’m going to teach you all how to get around if you lose your compass and the rest of us aren’t with you for some reason,” Nikki said, briskly heading over to her backpack. “After that, I’ll teach you the communication signals.”
Once we were done with her lessons—aided by Cheryl, who’d studied up on survival tactics for years—I glanced over at a stack of blankets on the far side of the cabin. Then I checked the tiny pocket watch I’d received in my pack.
“It’s half past nine now, so we’ve got two and a half hours until this cabin is no longer safe,” I said. “I’d suggest getting some sleep so we’re more energized later, but I doubt any of us can actually manage that right now.”
“We should still try,” Cheryl said. “Even lying down and resting our eyes is better than nothing.”
As the seven of us laid out the blankets to create makeshift mattresses on the hard floor, our earbuds crackled to life with a gloating announcement.
“Hello, players. Here’s a little update for you,” the voice said. “We’re not even five hours into the Hunt yet, and out of the original fifty players, eleven of you are already dead. You’re dropping like flies! On top of that, according to our surveillance, only twelve of the remaining players made it to either one of the safe zones. You guys really need to step up your game, or else it’s going to be a short one. Also, a reminder for you: the two current safe zones will close at midnight. We’ll send out coordinates for the new safe zones after that. Happy hiding!”
“Assholes,” Nikki muttered.
“Should we change the time?” Ava asked, glancing at the clock on the cabin wall.
“Why would we do that?” Jade asked, forehead wrinkling.
“Well, if we set it to fifteen minutes earlier than it actually is, it’ll chime for midnight and wake us up when it’s only a quarter to twelve. That way we can leave before the hunters get here,” Ava said. “I mean… I’m just assuming they’ll be waiting to pick people off as they leave at midnight.”
“Nice idea in theory,” Nikki said. “But I bet there’s already a bunch of hunters waiting outside as we speak. So even if we left early, they’d still try to get us.”
“Oh.” Ava’s face fell. “You’re right. I didn’t even think of that.”
“We just have to be careful when we leave. Really fucking careful,” Nikki said, sinking into her pile of blankets.
I lay next to Nikki and tried to relax, but my mind wouldn’t shut off. I kept glancing toward the window, half expecting to see a figure lurking just outside.
Rhett.
I couldn’t help it. My thoughts kept drifting back to him again and again. Was he still out there, watching us? Waiting for us to emerge? I shivered at the thought, but it wasn’t all fear. Some twisted part of me wondered… would it really be so bad if he was out there?
The thought of him—the skull-masked version of him, the one hunting me—wasn’t as terrifying as it should’ve been. Instead, there was something undeniably exciting about it. The idea of him chasing me before pinning me up against a tree and brutally fucking me with that pierced cock of his sent a strange shiver through my body.
God, what the fuck was wrong with me?
I couldn’t afford to think this way. This hunt was real, not just some dark fantasy, and the fact that Rhett was part of it meant he was a killer. That was what I needed to focus on whenever he popped into my head. I shouldn’t be thinking about how sexy he looked with that mask on, or how the little metal bars on his cock made me salivate. It really, really wasn’t the fucking time for any of that.
But still… the dark thoughts wouldn’t leave me. They lingered, dangerous and tempting, driving me crazy.
I buried my face in my arms, hoping the darkness would somehow drown out the buzzing in my mind. No distractions. I had to focus on survival and sleep, not my next damn sex dream.
My eyes finally began to flutter with exhaustion, and I let myself begin to drift off. A few seconds later, a random thought jolted me wide awake, and for once, it had nothing to do with Rhett.
Shit.
“Nikki,” I whispered. “Are you still awake?”
She rolled over. “Yeah. I don’t think I can sleep. Why?”
“Do you remember what they said in the announcement?”
“Yup. They mocked us for dying so fast and told us the safe zones are closing soon,” she said bitterly, scooting a little closer so our whispered conversation wouldn’t disturb any of the others.
“There was something else,” I said. “He said ‘the original fifty players’, right?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“There were fifty-one of us at the start. Not fifty.”
“Wait… what?” She frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Positive. When we opened the cache, the backpacks were stacked on each other in five rows of ten, except for one extra on the side. And I distinctly remember seeing one marked with a sticker that said fifty-one.”
“That’s… not good,” she said, slowly shaking her head. “I mean, the guy on the radio could’ve just misspoken, but I don’t know. I feel like nothing here is an accident.”
“Same. So now I’m wondering if Jade isn’t just paranoid after all. There could be a mole. Someone added to the game to shake things up.”
“Fuck.” She exhaled deeply, rolled onto her back, and scrubbed her hands over her face. “It’s bad enough that we have to worry about the hunters. Now we have to worry about the players too?”
“Looks like it, yeah,” I said grimly.
“What do you think it means?” she asked, looking at me again. “Like, are they secretly a hunter, picking off whoever they manage to get alone so no one else suspects them? Or are they just here to sabotage us all?”
“I have no idea.”
“Shit.” Her eyes widened. “I just realized. It could be one of them. ”
As she spoke, she tilted her head backward to gesture at the other five in the cabin.
“And we just told them all about our grand plan to escape,” I said, heart skipping a beat. “If one of them is actually a mole, they could secretly radio that information back to the organizers.”
“And then we’ll probably be the first to get bounties put on us,” she said. “ Fuck. ”
“Hold on.” I sat up, resting on my elbows. “We can sneak a look at their backpacks to check their numbers.”
I already knew mine was fifty and Nikki’s was seventeen, but I hadn’t even thought of looking at the other’s bags when they arrived.
Nikki sighed. “I don’t know. The organizers aren’t stupid, so they’d probably give the mole a number in the middle somewhere, because fifty-one would just be too obvious. Some random player probably got it instead.”
“True.” I sagged on the blanket again. “God, you and Cheryl were right. You really can’t trust anyone in this game.”
“No shit. In the end, it all comes down to one person. Yourself,” she said. “But that’s only if you’re playing the original game. And we’re not doing that. We’re trying to leave the game, like you said earlier. So I still think this tunnel idea will work.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We already know we can trust each other. We just have to hope like hell that the others can be trusted too.”
“What are the odds that one of them is the mole?” I asked.
“Hmm. Let me think.” She frowned again. “If we’re just going by the five of them… there’s currently forty players left, including the mole, so that’s a one in eight chance that it’s one of them, right?”
“Yeah, that sounds right.”
“If we include the two of us, given our ‘trust no one’ rule, that’s… um…” She trailed off and sighed. “Shit, I’m too tired for this. I think it’s around a one in six chance.”
I glanced over at the others again. “God, I really hope it’s not one of us,” I muttered. “If it is, we’re so screwed.”
“Let’s go through everyone, one by one. See if we think we can trust them.”
“Okay.” I stuck my thumb up to start listing people on my hand. “Cheryl—no way she’s a mole. Absolutely no way. I trust her completely.”
Nikki nodded. “Yeah, she seems decent. I trust Kanako too. I don’t think the mole would let themselves get hurt.”
“Me neither. And Chris… we know he wasn’t lying about just getting out of prison, because that Peter guy said he saw the case on the news. So I doubt he’s working for the organization. I think he signed up because he genuinely thought it was a chance to get paroled.”
“Unless part of his ‘get out of jail free’ card included a deal with the organization to be the mole,” she said, raising a brow.
I groaned and put my fingers down. “Shit. Yeah.”
Nikki sighed. “This was a stupid idea. I shouldn’t have even brought it up,” she said. “I mean, no matter how much we think about it… it really could be any one of us. It could even be you or me.”
“I guess we just have to hope it isn’t someone here, seeing as we already told them our plan.”
“No shit,” she said, grimacing. “But they all looked genuinely shocked when you mentioned the tunnels, right?”
“Yeah.”
“The mole wouldn’t be shocked, because they’d already know about the tunnels. So I’m going to hold out hope that we got lucky.” She cast a look toward the other five. “I think we’re safe with them.”
“I guess we’ll find out,” I murmured.
We went quiet, trying to get a little bit of rest, but the tension in the air kept me wide awake. Every creak of the cabin and every rustle from outside drew my attention, reminding me of the awful situation.
Eventually, the clock on the cabin wall struck midnight, its loud chime slicing through the stillness like a warning. I froze at the sound, reality settling in.
It was time to go.